{"id":1524,"date":"2026-06-07T11:09:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T11:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/?p=1524"},"modified":"2026-06-14T09:33:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T09:33:56","slug":"history-shapes-my-fiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/history-shapes-my-fiction\/","title":{"rendered":"History shapes my fiction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When I sit down to write, I\u2019m never starting from a blank slate. I\u2019m surrounded by echoes\u2014of people who lived, suffered, hoped, and made impossible choices long before I put a single word on the page. History isn\u2019t just a setting for me; it\u2019s a living current that runs underneath every story I tell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of my books are rooted in real events and real people. I don\u2019t see fiction as an escape from reality so much as a way of stepping closer to it. History books can give you the facts, but stories help you feel them. When I\u2019m working on a novel, I dig into letters, court records, news reports, and eyewitness accounts, not because I want to show off research, but because each small detail\u2014how the light fell in a courtroom, what a town smelled like after the rain, what someone might have eaten that morning\u2014anchors the story in truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, I\u2019m not writing textbooks. I\u2019m writing human stories. That means I sometimes have to imagine what the historical record leaves out: the conversations that weren\u2019t written down, the doubts no one dared confess, the private prayers that never made it into any archive. This is where the line between history and fiction becomes a bridge. I\u2019m not changing what happened; I\u2019m exploring what it might have felt like to be there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Writing this way is a responsibility. If I\u2019m telling a story about a real culture, a real person, or a real moment of suffering or courage, I want to approach it with humility. I try to honor both the truth of the past and the needs of the reader in the present. That means asking hard questions: Am I simplifying this too much? Am I romanticizing something that was actually brutal? Am I giving this person their full human dignity, or turning them into a symbol?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In the end, I write historical fiction for the same reason I read it: to be changed. When I step into another time through story, I\u2019m reminded that the people who lived then were not so different from us. They loved their families, carried secret fears, and sometimes found the courage to do the right thing at great cost. If my books can help a reader recognize that same potential for courage and compassion in themselves, then history has done its work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Call to action:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019d like to see how real history comes alive in my novels, visit&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/johnacreebooks.com\/\">JohnAcreeBooks.com<\/a>&nbsp;and explore my full catalog of stories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When I sit down to write, I\u2019m never starting from a blank slate. I\u2019m surrounded by echoes\u2014of people who lived, suffered, hoped, and made impossible choices long before I put a single word on the page. History isn\u2019t just a setting for me; it\u2019s a living current that runs underneath every story I tell. Many [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>History Shapes My Fiction | Writing Historical Fiction<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover how history shapes fiction. Author John Acree shares his process of using real letters, court records, and eyewitness accounts...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/history-shapes-my-fiction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"History Shapes My Fiction | Writing Historical Fiction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover how history shapes fiction. Author John Acree shares his process of using real letters, court records, and eyewitness accounts to write novels.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/history-shapes-my-fiction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"John Acree\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/john.acree.923\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-07T11:09:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-14T09:33:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Acree\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@JohnAcree15\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@JohnAcree15\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Acree\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/history-shapes-my-fiction\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/history-shapes-my-fiction\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"John Acree\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4be98d98be9ff74175aaabb76ef16a50\"},\"headline\":\"History shapes my fiction\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-07T11:09:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-14T09:33:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/history-shapes-my-fiction\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":443,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/history-shapes-my-fiction\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/IMG_6261_7021fb9b30.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/history-shapes-my-fiction\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/history-shapes-my-fiction\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/history-shapes-my-fiction\\\/\",\"name\":\"History Shapes My Fiction | Writing Historical Fiction\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/history-shapes-my-fiction\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/history-shapes-my-fiction\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/IMG_6261_7021fb9b30.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-07T11:09:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-14T09:33:56+00:00\",\"description\":\"Discover how history shapes fiction. Author John Acree shares his process of using real letters, court records, and eyewitness accounts...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/history-shapes-my-fiction\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/history-shapes-my-fiction\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/history-shapes-my-fiction\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/IMG_6261_7021fb9b30.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/IMG_6261_7021fb9b30.avif\",\"width\":828,\"height\":828},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/history-shapes-my-fiction\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"History shapes my fiction\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/\",\"name\":\"John Acree\",\"description\":\"No Regrets\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"John Acree\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/John_Acree_Logo-removebg-preview.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/John_Acree_Logo-removebg-preview.png\",\"width\":385,\"height\":345,\"caption\":\"John Acree\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/john.acree.923\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/JohnAcree15\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/john.acree.923\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/@johnacree6946?si=v3pwPyfxczFdD6-w\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4be98d98be9ff74175aaabb76ef16a50\",\"name\":\"John Acree\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/bdee286244b0717b247b910779a99ca722c6e456ff9df9c6c91b7ff32d197787?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/bdee286244b0717b247b910779a99ca722c6e456ff9df9c6c91b7ff32d197787?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/bdee286244b0717b247b910779a99ca722c6e456ff9df9c6c91b7ff32d197787?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Acree\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newdomain.site\\\/john\\\/author\\\/john_acree\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"History Shapes My Fiction | Writing Historical Fiction","description":"Discover how history shapes fiction. Author John Acree shares his process of using real letters, court records, and eyewitness accounts...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/history-shapes-my-fiction\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"History Shapes My Fiction | Writing Historical Fiction","og_description":"Discover how history shapes fiction. Author John Acree shares his process of using real letters, court records, and eyewitness accounts to write novels.","og_url":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/history-shapes-my-fiction\/","og_site_name":"John Acree","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/john.acree.923","article_published_time":"2026-06-07T11:09:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-14T09:33:56+00:00","author":"John Acree","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@JohnAcree15","twitter_site":"@JohnAcree15","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Acree","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/history-shapes-my-fiction\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/history-shapes-my-fiction\/"},"author":{"name":"John Acree","@id":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/#\/schema\/person\/4be98d98be9ff74175aaabb76ef16a50"},"headline":"History shapes my fiction","datePublished":"2026-06-07T11:09:53+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-14T09:33:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/history-shapes-my-fiction\/"},"wordCount":443,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/history-shapes-my-fiction\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_6261_7021fb9b30.avif","articleSection":["Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/history-shapes-my-fiction\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/history-shapes-my-fiction\/","url":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/history-shapes-my-fiction\/","name":"History Shapes My Fiction | Writing Historical Fiction","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/history-shapes-my-fiction\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/history-shapes-my-fiction\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_6261_7021fb9b30.avif","datePublished":"2026-06-07T11:09:53+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-14T09:33:56+00:00","description":"Discover how history shapes fiction. Author John Acree shares his process of using real letters, court records, and eyewitness accounts...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/history-shapes-my-fiction\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/history-shapes-my-fiction\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/history-shapes-my-fiction\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_6261_7021fb9b30.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_6261_7021fb9b30.avif","width":828,"height":828},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/history-shapes-my-fiction\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"History shapes my fiction"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/#website","url":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/","name":"John Acree","description":"No Regrets","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/#organization","name":"John Acree","url":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John_Acree_Logo-removebg-preview.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John_Acree_Logo-removebg-preview.png","width":385,"height":345,"caption":"John Acree"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/john.acree.923","https:\/\/x.com\/JohnAcree15","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/john.acree.923","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@johnacree6946?si=v3pwPyfxczFdD6-w"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/#\/schema\/person\/4be98d98be9ff74175aaabb76ef16a50","name":"John Acree","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bdee286244b0717b247b910779a99ca722c6e456ff9df9c6c91b7ff32d197787?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bdee286244b0717b247b910779a99ca722c6e456ff9df9c6c91b7ff32d197787?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bdee286244b0717b247b910779a99ca722c6e456ff9df9c6c91b7ff32d197787?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"John Acree"},"url":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/author\/john_acree\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1524"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2428,"href":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1524\/revisions\/2428"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newdomain.site\/john\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}